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More than 8,700 people sue Asahi Shimbun over 'comfort women' stories ‹ Japan Today: Japan News and Discussion
More than 8,700 university professors, lawyers, teachers, journalists and others are suing the Asahi Shimbun, seeking both a formal apology and reparations for the newspaper’s stories on “comfort women.”
The group of plaintiffs, led by Sophia University professor emeritus Shoichi Watanabe, is demanding 10,000 yen in apparently symbolic compensation each, describing themselves as “Japanese citizens whose honor and credibility were damaged by the false reports made by the Asahi Shimbun”, according to court documents.
They argue that Asahi reports on the so-called “comfort women” system “have imposed indescribable humiliation not only on former soldiers but also on honorable Japanese citizens… who are labelled as descendents of gang rapists.”
The stories were published in the 1980s and 1990s.
The Asahi Shimbun took years to withdraw incorrect articles on “comfort women”, as those forced to work in Japanese wartime military brothels are known, and has since faced a barrage of criticism from Japanese conservatives and become the target of harassment and threats of attack.
A report from a panel of academics and industry specialists set up by the daily last year said the paper’s handling of the issue was a “betrayal of readers’ trust.”
Last August, the newspaper retracted the articles based on a Japanese man’s account - later found to be false - that described women on the Korean island of Jeju being forcibly recruited to work in the brothels. The issues surrounding “comfort women” remain a flashpoint in Japan’s ties with South Korea.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has said the Asahi’s erroneous articles on comfort women smeared Japan’s image in the eyes of people overseas, but the report concluded that the Asahi’s reports had only limited impact on international society.
Despite a dearth of official records, mainstream historians say up to 200,000 women, many from Korea but also from China, Indonesia, the Philippines and Taiwan, served Japanese soldiers in military brothels called “comfort stations”.
Most agree that these women were not willing participants and that the Imperial Japanese Army and wartime government were involved in their enslavement, tacitly or explicitly.
Right-wingers, however, say the women were common prostitutes engaged in a commercial exchange, and are fighting a vigorous rear-guard battle to alter the narrative.
The Asahi has become the focus of their ire because of the series of articles.
“In the postwar period, the Asahi Shimbun has consistently been haunted by socialistic fantasies, infected by anti-Japanese, self-degrading ideologies,” the lawsuit alleges.
The paper “never hesitated to humiliate (the men) who so selflessly staked their lives for Japan’s independence and modernisation.
“The Japanese military complied with international law and maintained high moral standards, with the world’s strictest military discipline,” the document says.
The Asahi said it would study the court document before responding.
More than 8,700 university professors, lawyers, teachers, journalists and others are suing the Asahi Shimbun, seeking both a formal apology and reparations for the newspaper’s stories on “comfort women.”
The group of plaintiffs, led by Sophia University professor emeritus Shoichi Watanabe, is demanding 10,000 yen in apparently symbolic compensation each, describing themselves as “Japanese citizens whose honor and credibility were damaged by the false reports made by the Asahi Shimbun”, according to court documents.
They argue that Asahi reports on the so-called “comfort women” system “have imposed indescribable humiliation not only on former soldiers but also on honorable Japanese citizens… who are labelled as descendents of gang rapists.”
The stories were published in the 1980s and 1990s.
The Asahi Shimbun took years to withdraw incorrect articles on “comfort women”, as those forced to work in Japanese wartime military brothels are known, and has since faced a barrage of criticism from Japanese conservatives and become the target of harassment and threats of attack.
A report from a panel of academics and industry specialists set up by the daily last year said the paper’s handling of the issue was a “betrayal of readers’ trust.”
Last August, the newspaper retracted the articles based on a Japanese man’s account - later found to be false - that described women on the Korean island of Jeju being forcibly recruited to work in the brothels. The issues surrounding “comfort women” remain a flashpoint in Japan’s ties with South Korea.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has said the Asahi’s erroneous articles on comfort women smeared Japan’s image in the eyes of people overseas, but the report concluded that the Asahi’s reports had only limited impact on international society.
Despite a dearth of official records, mainstream historians say up to 200,000 women, many from Korea but also from China, Indonesia, the Philippines and Taiwan, served Japanese soldiers in military brothels called “comfort stations”.
Most agree that these women were not willing participants and that the Imperial Japanese Army and wartime government were involved in their enslavement, tacitly or explicitly.
Right-wingers, however, say the women were common prostitutes engaged in a commercial exchange, and are fighting a vigorous rear-guard battle to alter the narrative.
The Asahi has become the focus of their ire because of the series of articles.
“In the postwar period, the Asahi Shimbun has consistently been haunted by socialistic fantasies, infected by anti-Japanese, self-degrading ideologies,” the lawsuit alleges.
The paper “never hesitated to humiliate (the men) who so selflessly staked their lives for Japan’s independence and modernisation.
“The Japanese military complied with international law and maintained high moral standards, with the world’s strictest military discipline,” the document says.
The Asahi said it would study the court document before responding.
